First-Time Home Buyer Incentive
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive (the Incentive) helps qualified first-time homebuyers reduce their monthly mortgage carrying costs without adding to their financial burdens.
You need to have the minimum down payment to be eligible. You can then apply for a 5% or 10% shared equity mortgage with the Government of Canada. Your maximum qualifying income is no more than $120,000 and your total borrowing is limited to 4 times the qualifying income.
The Incentive has an equity-like payout, where the government would share in the upside and downside of the property value.
The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive launches September 2, 2019*.
* Barring any unforeseen circumstances the program will launch on September 2, 2019. The first closing will take effect on November 1, 2019.
Program Details
Eligibility & Requirements
Let’s look at a specific situation
Anita wants to buy a new home for $400,000.
Under the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, Anita can apply to receive $40,000 in a shared equity mortgage (10% of the cost of a new home) through the program. This is on top of the minimum required down payment of $20,000 (5% of the purchase price) from her savings.
This lowers the amount she needs to borrow and reduces her monthly expenses.
As a result, Anita’s mortgage is $228 less a month or $2,736 a year.
Years later, Anita has sold her first home for $420,000. At this time, she would now have to repay the original incentive she received as a percentage of her home’s current value. This would result in Anita repaying 10%, or $42,000 at the time of selling her house.
* This example is for illustrative purposes only. All property values and home prices used in this example are not an indicator on how property values are forecasted.
Here’s another situation
John has an annual qualifying income of $83,125.
To be eligible for Canada’s First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, he can purchase a home up to $350,000. John still has the required minimum down payment of 5% of the purchase price, $17,500 from his savings. He can receive $35,000 in a shared equity mortage — 10% of a newly constructed home.
This would reduce John’s mortgage payments by $200 a month or $2,401 a year.
Years later, John has to decided to sell his home, but it is now worth $320,000. When he sells his house at the price of $320,000, John will have to repay the original incentive he received as a percentage of his home’s current value. This would result in John repaying 10%, or $32,000 at the time of selling his house.
* This example is for illustrative purposes only. All property values and home prices used in this example are not an indicator on how property values are forecasted.
